DING YI

• Repetitive

• focused.

• Extra

• Tons of effort

• Exhausting

• Monotonous

• Patterned

• Determination

• Perseverance

• Machine like

• Aesthetically pleasing

• Boring

• Difficult to stay repetitive and stay consistent

• The simplest thing can become art.

DING YI

• Repetitive

• focused.

• Extra

• Tons of effort

• Exhausting

• Monotonous

• Patterned

• Determination

• Perseverance

• Machine like

• Aesthetically pleasing

• Boring

• Difficult to stay repetitive and stay consistent

• The simplest thing can become art.

DING YI

Ding Yi has been making abstractpaintings using crosses and grids since the late 1980s. The cross, whether a + or an x with thematic variation, is a motif that the artist has declared a formal mark without meaning, in order to emphasize his rationalist approach to painting. The context of Ding’s work has always been the incredibly fast-paced development of the industrial urban environment in post-socialist China, and the work, whether predominantly black, painted on tartan, or elaborated in intense fluorescent colors, all bear the title Appearance of Crosses with a date. Ding’s practice encompasses painting, sculpture, spatial installation and architecture.

What does “abstract” actually mean?

Jean-Michel Basquiat Wasily Kandinsky Julie Mehretu Ding Yi

Nila: It takes time to find a meaning, it’s not direct.Jen: Weird work! It looks like a mess with weird shapes and linesLevy: General wierdness in art.

Benz: Hey there Hazel, You got some abstract colored hair. Delani: The graffiti on the table is very abstract. Because it’s all a mess. Azalea: Ding Yi’s work is not messy, it’s detailed and complex and geometric.

.

.

What does “abstract” actually mean?

Jean-Michel Basquiat Wasily Kandinsky Julie Mehretu Ding Yi

It’s not contemporary?It’s art where you’re like “that’s a painting of THIS.” You could debate what it is…we don’t know exactly what it is.It’s random, without a pattern

But wait….Ding Yi’s art IS a pattern. There’s paintings with shapes….and that’s abstract.

It’s when something doesn’t really add up.Abnormality x RANDOMNESS????

What does “abstract” actually mean?

Jean-Michel Basquiat Wasily Kandinsky Julie Mehretu Ding Yi

Art that does not attempt to represent reality or realistic things, but instead seeks to only show shapes, forms, colors, and textures. You may think you see an image of something, but the artist intends for you to only see color and shapes.

Abstract art is different from art that uses abstraction, which may contain some realistic elements alongside abstract elements.

ABSTRACTION + MINIMALISM = DING YI?

Jackson Pollock Lee KrasnerDan Flavin Agnes Martin

DING YI

DING YI

Appearance of

Crosses 1991–3

Mixed media on

basswood

(1991)

What do you think?Abstract?Minimal?

Or something else entirely?

DING YI

Inspired by the Zen practice of calligraphy, painter Ding Yi is a pioneer of abstraction in China, completely rejecting narrative and representation in his practice. He creates colorful, abstract geometric works through a precise process: each painting comprises countless individually painted crosses (+) and X’s.

Artists, Appearance of Crosses 2016-6, Mixed media on basswood

2016

DING YI – What does this artist seem like as a person?

https://www.timothytaylor.com/news/#ding-yi-whats-left-to-appear

• Lala: He seems calm. He takes every detail into consideration. Every mark is made by hand, carved out or painted.

• Ingrid: SO PATIENT. I would not be able to do that. He’s so precise with it.

• Danisa: I don’t wanna be friends with Ding Yi.His work puts me to sleep. It’s very boring.

• DESTINY: He probably has a messy room or house. His art is so neat and precise that all his energy at home is sloppy and chill.

• Michael: He seems like someone who just ….cannot be put into words.

• Magda: DEDICATED. His work must take so long! Does he not do anything else in his life? (Prince: you wouldn’t expect this to be someone’s lifestyle.)

• Abdul: He’s a PERFECTIONIST.

DING YI – What does this artist seem like as a person?

https://www.timothytaylor.com/news/#ding-yi-whats-left-to-appear

• Azalea: He’s articulate.• Herbert: He’s a perfectionist, very accurate with his

work. It’s precise. And I like his work! If I was an artist, this is the kind of art I would make. The patterning is FIRE. They’re so accurate, and he makes it all himself. It’s all done by hand, and that’s special.

• Jen: He likes to try out new things(woodcut technique), not sticking to just one thing (painting)

• Adiba: He uses simple but interesting designs as his go-to. It looks really simple but has a meaning behind it—to connect to the viewer’s inner self.

• Kozak: what is the meaning behind it??• Christian: it’s repetitive. It could get boring, but he sees

pleasure in it. His work plays tricks on the viewer’s eyes. It may be boring to make, but the outcome is challenging.

DING YIIn all of Ding Yi’s art, the viewer may see things that look recognizable, with all his +’s and X’s we are free to enjoy seeing and sensing things in that we know aren't actually there, nor were even intended to be conveyed by the artist. This more modest measure of uniqueness is something Ding clearly values.

When asked what advice he has for rising artists, he says, “Every artist should be independent and creative in mind, thinking in her/his own way. We should not be influenced by elder artists.”

Appearance of Crosses 2001-12Acrylic on Tartan2001

• Katelyn: He surprises me. Most artists have older people that have influenced their aesthetic. But he’s very independent to focus on his own work

• Sakin: His art bores me, I don’t see the purpose behind it besides just seeing colors and lines.

• Kozak: But….you just STATED the purpose....• Michael: It’s just colors and lines, but I appreciate the

effort. • Dest: The work doesn’t make me feel anything….BUT

THE COLORS ARE PRITTY • Marco: It’s like Sol Lewitt, all art can be just color and

lines if you choose to break it down that way. • Ab: His work is just patterns. It doesn’t look like most art.• Dan: To Marco: The difference between everything else

and this, Ding only wants us to see color and lines. The intention is everything.

• Ingrid: Does all art have a HUGE PHILOSPHY BEHIND IT?

• Kendell: A lot of people will look to older folks to find a path but Maybe we need to find our own path, find who you are.

• Nila: Maybe the fact that if you see someone who has experience (success) you shouldn’t sell yourself short.

• Tenz: BE YOURSELF. BUT I disagree, older people have experience and they can help you not make the same mistakes they did.

• Jen: Don’t expect to be exactly like your elders.• Benz: The Michelangelo exhibit at the MET, you can see

how his work influenced other artists.• Christian: You can revolutionize art with your own

ideas….rather than copy other older styles. • Kendell: Just come up with things that are new and

fresh.• GYA: If you keep copying older stuff nothing

revolutionary occurs. • Delani: But you can look up to people as a guide. That’s

not a bad thing.

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu

I am Here

2006

Fiberglass、 Silica Gel、 Simulation of

Sculpture

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu

I am Here

2006

Fiberglass、 Silica Gel、 Simulation of

Sculpture

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu

Old Persons Home

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu

Old Persons Home

2007

Electric Wheelchair、 Fiberglass、Silica Gel、Simulation of Sculpture

…

http://www.sunyuanpengyu.com/

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu's work Old People's Home

consists of 13 hyper-realistic, life-sized human replicas

of army generals, religious and political leaders of

various nationalities, wearing very formal garb, all

sitting in electro-motion wheelchairs. This is a large-

scale site-specific installation. The hyper-realistic

human replicas in the wheelchairs either stare at

something or simply nod their heads or look like they

may be taking a nap.

Old Persons Home

2007

Electric Wheelchair、 Fiberglass、Silica Gel、Simulation of Sculpture

…

http://www.sunyuanpengyu.com/

The wheelchairs automatically change directions when

they collide with each other or with the wall. They are

in constant motion, ceaselessly colliding, and their

faces are emotionless, thus creating a kind of

indifferent and eccentric atmosphere. They do not talk

to each other, so the scene resembles a collective hush,

created by people from various cultural, social and

racial backgrounds. The scene represents a group of

people who have no direct relationship…

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu

Sun Yuan & Peng YuLive and work in Beijing.

Can’t Help Myself

2016

Sun Yuan & Peng YuLive and work in Beijing.

Can’t Help Myself

2016

medium:

Kuka industrial robot,

stainless steel and

rubber, cellulose ether

in colored water,

lighting grid with

Cognex visual-

recognition sensors, and

polycarbonate wall with

aluminum frame

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu Can’t Help Myself

2016

medium:

Kuka industrial robot,

stainless steel and

rubber, cellulose ether

in colored water,

lighting grid with

Cognex visual-

recognition sensors, and

polycarbonate wall with

aluminum frame

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu Can’t Help Myself

2016

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu Can’t Help Myself

2016

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu

Live and work in Beijing.

Can’t Help Myself

2016

Can’t Help Myself employs an industrial robot, visual

recognition sensors, and software systems to examine our

increasingly automated global reality, one in which territories

are mechanically controlled and machine-human relationship is

rapidly changing.

Placed behind clear acrylic walls, the robot performs one specific

action: it contains a viscous, deep-red liquid within a

predetermined area.

When the visual-recognition sensors detect that the fluid has

strayed too far, the arm frenetically shovels it back into place,

leaving smudges on the ground and splashes on the surrounding

walls.

http://www.sunyuanpengyu.com/

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu

Live and work in Beijing.

Can’t Help Myself

2016

Sun Yuan (1972) and Peng Yu (1974) are known for using

dark humor to address contentious topics, and their robot’s

repetitive and endless “dance” presents and absurd Sisyphean

view of contemporary issues surrounding migration and

sovereignty.

However, the bloodstain-like marks that accumulate around

the robot evoke the violence that results from surveilling and

guarding border zones. Such visceral associations call

attention to the consequences of authoritarianism and the

increasing use of technology to monitor our environment.

http://www.sunyuanpengyu.com/

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu

Live and work in Beijing.

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu's works always start with a

paradox. Their early objects and installations are

made from real cadavers or human fat tissues. Yet,

even though playing on the speculative and the

spectacular, they focus on the investigation of the

paradox rather than merely exploiting the spectacular.

The tension between the bodies, organic tissues or

animals and their artistic manifestations

corresponds to the transition of subjects from the

plane of immanence (existing through everything)

onto the plane of transcendence (to go beyond the

physical limits).

Human Oil2000

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu

Safety Island2003

In one piece,

Safety Island, a live Asian tiger paces inside a

large steel cage, which is constructed

alongside an exhibition hall's four interior

walls, creating a corridor for the walking tiger

and serving as a virtual moat for the human

spectators.

Those who wish to enter or exit the gallery

must gather around the only two convertible

'drawbridges'. Depending on the tiger's

position, the cage's steel bars may be folded

sideways to create an arrow passageway,

allowing single-filed spectators to go through

it.

Safety Island2003

In one piece,

Safety Island, a live Asian tiger paces inside a

large steel cage, which is constructed

alongside an exhibition hall's four interior

walls, creating a corridor for the walking tiger

and serving as a virtual moat for the human

spectators.

Those who wish to enter or exit the gallery

must gather around the only two convertible

'drawbridges'. Depending on the tiger's

position, the cage's steel bars may be folded

sideways to create an arrow passageway,

allowing single-filed spectators to go through

it.

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu

…

http://www.sunyuanpengyu.com/

Angel

2008

Silica Gel、Fiberglass、Stainless Steel、Woven

Mesh

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu

…

http://www.sunyuanpengyu.com/

Angel

2008

Silica Gel、Fiberglass、Stainless Steel、Woven

Mesh

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu

…

http://www.sunyuanpengyu.com/

Angel

2008

Silica Gel、Fiberglass、Stainless Steel、Woven

Mesh

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu

Angel

2008

Silica Gel、Fiberglass、 Stainless Steel、Woven Mesh

http://www.sunyuanpengyu.com/

The angel, an old woman in a white

gown and with featherless wings, is

lying face-down on the ground; maybe

sleeping, maybe dead, but certainly

immobile and frozen into an all too

realistic image.

The supernatural being, now nothing

more than an impotent creature, can

neither carry out any supreme will nor be

of any help to those believing in its

existence. The angel is true but

ineffective; dreams and hopes are sincere

yet vain.

What ideas & themes do we see emerging in the artwork of Sun Yuan & Peng Yu

http://www.sunyuanpengyu.com/

Tatiana: Death and the cycle of LIFE.

Kendell: Safety ISLAND and Angel show us the opposite of what the experience

usually is?

Marco: Safety Island, the tiger is the “viewer” and the audience the “food” And

with Angel, we the viewer are looking down on it rather than it down on us.

Jen: In a lot of their works, these things are TRAPPED inside other things. They’re

talking about LONLINESS.

Gya: They’re referencing existential risks in our lives. Like with Can’t Help Myself,

the robot is trying but not progressing in life.

Christian: Adding onto Gyaban: They want their viewers hearts to RACE. Like

with Safety Island, everything is focused on personal safety!!

.

.

.

What ideas & themes do we see emerging in the artwork of Sun Yuan & Peng Yu

http://www.sunyuanpengyu.com/

Danisa: Hyperrealism with silica and other materials.

Sarah: Death and sadness.

Adrianna: They’re exploring controversy

Sakin: It’s like they’re bringing LIFE to DEATH….taking inanimate objects and

making them do human things. They’re showing morals through this too.

Michael: They’re exploiting darkness and reality. Like in Can’t Help Myself, there’s

an inhumanity to it. Safety Island does this too.

.

.

.

Sun Yuan and Peng Yu

Dogs that Cannot Touch Each Other 2003

Photo from actual work.

The work is a seven-minute video of a performance that was staged at a museum in Beijing in 2003, during which dogs were placed on non-motorized treadmills facing one another and prevented from making contact. Contrary to some reports, no fighting occurred in the original performance and the presentation at the Guggenheim is in video format only; it is not a live event.

Sun Yuan and Peng Yu

Dogs that Cannot Touch Each Other 2003

TEXT

See the Video….Friday afterschool. 2:45pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-vxuesH75w

Sun Yuan and Peng Yu

Dogs that Cannot Touch Each Other 2003

TEXT

“Reflecting the artistic and political context of its time and place, Dogs That Cannot Touch Each Other is an intentionally challenging and provocative artwork that seeks to examine and critique systems of power and control.We recognize that the work may be upsetting. The curators of the exhibition hope that viewers will consider why the artists produced it and what they may be saying about the social conditions of globalization and the complex nature of the world we share.”

-Guggenheim Statement

Sun Yuan and Peng Yu

Dogs that Cannot Touch Each Other 2003

“Were the dogs being abused? The answer should be no. These dogs are naturally pugnacious. We only separated them and let them run on the treadmill, which became a sport for the dogs. For those who consider this animal abuse, I don’t understand what they are protesting about. In fact, human nature and animal nature are the same. China hosted the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008. What is the goal of this type of sporting event? Actually, it is a conversion of actual fighting into regulated competition. It’s agreeable to most people because most people are supportive of the convention of the Olympic Games.”

-Sun Yuan, Artist

Sun Yuan and Peng Yu

Dogs that Cannot Touch Each Other 2003

The issues raised by this video and the controversy are very intricate. They bear on how we see this time period and how we view museums themselves—are they just a place for entertainment that should only present things that are lovely or morally agreeable, or does a show like “Theater of the World” also represent a historical examination of another culture and another time? If so, how do you judge that history? Even if aspects of it are deeply troubling or repugnant, should they be presented if they were important?

-Ben Davis, Art Critic, Writer for Artnet.com

Sun Yuan and PengYu

• Dakota: The real power of art is when people are made uncomfortable by it. It sparks conversation and new ideas to develop. Whatever purpose the artist has serves a purpose to ENGAGE PEOPLE.

• Marco: Most people don’t wanna feel uncomfortable, but this sparks opinions.

• Yeva:If people only go to see art they find appealing they’re not facing reality.

• Joseph; Psychologically speaking, people tend to argue. (kozak: no they don’t!) This is what makes art, art.

• Dakota: If you only focus on the good things and ignore those that you disagree with you may not be dealing with the whole world….just your little bubble of....”LALALAND”

• Tenz: CONFUSED. • Kellyah: Sometimes you’ve gotta take people out of

their comfort zone to teach them something.

.

.

.

Sun Yuan and PengYu

TEXT

• Marco:The original act could be abuse….but the video is not abuse.

• Mariama: It’s not animal abuse. Just some dogs, and they’re not being harmed in any way.

• Michael: Agree. They’re just walking on treadmills….

• Dest: People do worse things to dogs than this. • Nita: They’re on a treadmill....it limits their

freedom. These dogs look SAD, they’re harnessed. • Katelyn: People are misinformed about what this

piece is about….• Abdul: We’ve learned about the type of art these

people make. • Cass: My dog mostly just sits at home sleeping, but

these dogs are running on a treadmill for art...it’s not as awful as people make it out to be.

• Ingrid: The problem is that the artists are profiting from this. It’s kind of selfish artwork.

KATELYN: We usually don’t pay attention to problems unless they’re OUR problems, affecting us directly. Sarah: This is selfish. Mariama: Ai Weiwei would hate this, because of the “suffer” quote.

“All relationships are political. Person to person,

person to nation, nation to nation, etc.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGV3Y28DtNw

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu

Final thoughts?

Questions?

• Dakota: They’re not artists with some divine purpose. They’re sticking

to the most basic elements of people and society to show people the true

essence of those things.

• Kellyah: Their artwork matches their personalities. It’s different from

the norm. They’re not ”abnormal” but their art is.

• Delani: I don’t think they’re rebellious. Every

• Azalea: Just one look at their work and you’ll say they’re

disgusting…but they’re making work that isn’t eye-appealing, but it’s

interesting. They make you question their intentions...it makes your

think.

• BENZ: the IDEAS and DISCUSSION makes it interesting...not the look

of it.

• Tenz: They seem rebelious. Sun Yuan drawing pictures of his dad eating

poop.

• Kendell: And Peng Yu, being a rebel from the start and how it got her

into art.

• .

http://www.sunyuanpengyu.com/

Sun Yuan & Peng Yu

Final thoughts?

Questions?

• Sakin: Rebellious, Peng Yu said as a kid she didn’t follow rules. And

Sun Yuan as a kid drew and image of his dad eating poop. They’re

REBELS! I wouldn’t do that!!

• Their art discusses political ideas that people don’t want to talk about.

• Artan: They seem down to earth. They look like they know what they’re

doing. When they talk, they don’t stutter or sound stupid. They’re

professional!

• Ingrid: They’re not afraid of the controversy they’re going to receive.

It’s part of their art and life that people need to face controversy.

• Promia: They seem like normal people to me. Normal people that want

to make their art. I was expecting gloomy or sullen people.

• Cass: Their artwork is really cynical. They literally criticize the basest of

human natures. Especially in the Dog piece….how humans are

programmed to abuse animals and there’s no real way to avoid that.

We’re on this earth and we need to kill animals for food.

• Michael: They’re RISK TAKERS! They talk about weak spots that

people don’t want to talk about….they expose these ideas.

http://www.sunyuanpengyu.com/

Why do people try to escape reality? How do they do it?

• Sarah: People try to build a world for themselves in their head.• Marco: “Ignorance is bliss.” If we don’t know things we tend to be happier, it’s easy

to ignore the bad stuff.• Michael: People keep their feelings private, inside themselves. They only wanna feel

the good things, but you can’t ignore negativity, it’s a part of life. • Promia: You’ve gotta know sadness to experience happiness to the fullest.• NITA: You gotta have rain….to have rain...bows.

• NAPS, VIDEO GAMES, SPORTS, ENTERTAINMENT,

• Fiona Apple: “I just want to feel everything.”

Sun Yuan and Peng Yu

Dogs that Cannot Touch

Each Other

2003

TEXT

Sam Silber: This is animal crueltyTenzin Gaga: The yelps of the dogs make me think they’re getting

hurt in this artwork. Dakota: After seeing this, I don’t think it’s animal abuse, but it’s

taking the animals and putting them in a situation that prompts their natural reaction. Dogs run after each other all the time. It’s just what happens. It’s obviously controlled though, which proves their point.

The harnesses LOOK abusive than it really is. The artists are just instigating the dog’s natural reaction.

Marco M: Maybe this act could make them dogs behave more aggressively? When they put the cardboard barrier up you saw the

dogs calm down in an instant. Benz: I feel uneasy watching this, the barking of the dogs especially.

But it’s still not animal abuse. Tenz: I think I’ve changed my mind. When the dog was on the

treadmill, you could hear snarling, like they wanted to attack. And this piece is stopping them from achieving their goal. The headlines from

FB may have been kind of true….MARCO: Disagree! No dog is dying in this, and they’re not fighitng...

Why do people try to escape reality? How do they do it?

• Tatiana: Social Media. It’s like a FAKE REALITY. A perfect life of what we think we want others to see…it’s a FALSE PERSPECTIVE ON REALITY.

• JEN: They can block out things they don’t like and only pay attention to the things they enjoy. For me, I sit quietly away from other folks and have time to myself to think.

• Jaylin: They try to escape reality by denying it. For example, if a girl doesn’t like someone, they may pretend that she DOES like him. They can’t handle the truth and they do it to make themselves look outstanding.

• Jaylieen: Agree with Tatiana….Social Media is like a way to show things you have, to show off material items even if you’re broke.

• Adiba: A lot of people my age use entertainment as a way to escape reality, to get away from life. We try to make ourselves happy by ignoring the bad things and being entertained by fun things.

• Delani: people escape reality by getting involved with other people’s business....by starting to give opinions when they’re not “needed.”

Cao Fei Cao Fei (b. 1978, Guangzhou) is one of the most innovative Chinese young artists to have emerged on the international scene. Currently living in Beijing, she mixes social commentary, popular aesthetics, references to Surrealism, and documentary conventions in her films and installations. Her works reflect on the rapid and chaotic changes that are occurring in Chinese society today.

Cao's work often expresses the loneliness and powerlessness of her generation and is oriented around the search for utopia or a state of happiness. In her 2004 video Cosplayers, teenagers, dressed in costume, act out their fantasies of manga and anime characters against the industrial landscape of Guangzhou's rapidly expanding suburbs.

Cao Fei

Cosplayers

2004

Color video

http://www.caofei.com/works.aspx?year=2004&wtid=3

Cao Fei

Cosplayers

2004

Color video

http://www.caofei.com/works.aspx?year=2004&wtid=3

• Azalea: There’s a lot that is confusing here. The sounds and visuals don’t match up properly.

• Dak: I’s weird and childish. All this stuff is happening around everyday life (highways, etc)

• Gya: The Cosplayers look old enough to be 18-20, but they’re acting childish. And their parents don’t even care, they’re focused on their own things (work, reading, etc).

• Jaylin: There’s a connection to Anime, with dramatic sound effects. • Kendell: Agree with Jaylin, it’s like they’re reenacting their favor

Manga/Anima scenes. It’s like they’re in their own world. • Benz: This is like when I’m playing video games and my mom just has

NO IDEA and walks by.• Azalea: It’s like watching Netflix and reacting…my mom just....LOOKS.

Even if i’m screaming, she doesn’t even ask if i’m okay. • Delani: What’s the point of this?• Levy: It’s like she’s talking about youth and adults and how they

perceive the world. (kozak: worlds)• .

Cao Fei

China Tracy: i.Mirror part 1

2007

Color videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vcR7OkzHkI

Cao Fei

China Tracy: i.Mirror part 1

2007

Color video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vcR7OkzHkI

• Delani: What in the world…..?• Mattia: The voice in the background was soft and

creeepy. • Kellyah: The voice made it disturbing, it was ahrd

to watch for this reason.• Tatiana: This seemed to be building towards a dark

climax. It was really lonely. The vibe of the buildings and people were depressed. And the gray clouds too.

• Marco: I would not want someone to walk in while I was watching it. I would get cooked. Like roasted. Like fried.

• Levy: it’s like this game called .....(something)

Cao Fei

China Tracy: i.Mirror part 1

2007

Color video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vcR7OkzHkI

• Promia: one minute of animation takes a LONG time…but this is 10 minutes. So there’s obviously a lot of dedication.

• Marco: This confused me, lots of different aspects, the lyrics, the voice, etc.

• Aidan: Some capitalistic and communist themes. • -Kozak: some religious themes too….

• Sakin: “What did I just watch.” kind of vibe. It was a bit trippy with the lyrics, with an ASMR vibe.

• .• .

Cao FeiCao's fascination with the Internet and its power to disseminate hobbies and create subcultures across the globe has led her to incorporate technology in her works. In her RMB City series (2008–), participants in her videos build castles under the pretense of a game, realizing their impossible dreams through virtual reality. The eponymous location is a capture of Cao's ongoing three-dimensional city in the popular online game Second Life, where Cao's avatar, China Tracy, often acts as a guide, philosopher, or tourist.

Cao Fei

RMB City: A Second Life City Planning by

China Tracy (Aka: Cao Fei)

2007

Color videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MhfATPZA0g

Cao Fei

RMB City

2007-11

Open simulator

viewer

Cao Fei

RMB City

2007-11

Open simulator

viewer

Cao Fei

RMB City

2007-11

Open simulator

viewer

• Kendell: I don’t know what it’s about, but it has a different tone than the last one. It’s upbeat, and playful.

• .Gya: This is HER utopia????• Jaylieen: reminds me of when I play mario kart on

my DS bc music switches on and good stuff yeah • Mattia: Wondering why she included the box with

towers • Herbert: The fire • Kendell: BOWSER’S CASTLE!!!!

• .• .

Cao Fei

RMB City

2007-11

Open simulator

viewer

• Nita: This one has no lyrics, but the music, it’s a bit repetitive…it’s like pixelated music • Danisa: like 8-bit music.

• Mariama: There was a lot going on....there’s more movement and more colorful.

• Sarah: The i:Mirror one was more about people, but RMB City is more about architecture and environment.

• Marco: Parts of it remind me China, like Tiananmen Square, but instead of a pic of Mao, there was a pic of a PANDA.

• Promia: There were also traditional Chinese homes and architecture.

Cao Fei

“I would say my work is more commentary than criticism about Chinese society. Most people live their lives between two places: home and work. But as an individual, as a mother, I go out and buy groceries, I go to meetings, I talk to taxi drivers, I go to the airport and see the world. I pick up my kids from school and talk to the other parents. I learn a lot from all the circles I live in. Even when I’m just walking down the sidewalk, there’s a lot of information.”

Final thoughts on Cao Fei?

Sarah: She’s very observant. Paying attention to

everything going on around her.

Abdul: She maybe thinks that other people around her

aren’t that observant.

Danisa: We may be more observant than she assumes.

WHO IS THIS LADY TO SAY I’m NOT OBSERVANT?

Michael: She’s very interactive, and social….her work has

personality. And she’s not afraid to show her inner self on

the outside (or digital side)

Katelyn: She pays attention to minor details, you can see

this coming through her work.

Final thoughts on Cao Fei?Benz: Interesting that it’s more COMMENTARY than

CRITICISM. She’s talking about how people life and work and

having time to interact with each other.

Azalea: AGREE. But she seems like she’s making herself

seem more complicated.

Levy: She seems super pretentious.-–like she thinks she’s

better than everyone. “ everyone goes to work but I collect

information all day.”.

Mattia: The fire could represent the industrial side of China….

Kendell: Her pieces are eye-opening because they show me

how people can take their …..fantasies....to an extreme, it’s like

a way to get away from society and the problems they face

eveyday.

Christian: Her work is HYPNOTIZING and uncomfortable. Like

with iMirror. It got me sucked into the lyrics.

One more note on Cao Fei!

• Marco: Calm and settled. Even her hand gestures, they’re not like this, they’re like uhh.

• Christian: Kind of soft spoken• Kendell: Before they start translating, you can hear her a bit.

• Kendell: Some folks may think she may “look weird” because of her Cosplayers piece. But she looks young, and like a regular person that you see every day.

• Yeva: Cities in China as inspiration for her work.

• Delani: The artwork probably took a long time to do, for people who take Comp Sci with Gersh, you know it’s really tough to code.

• Mattia: Working with people from different countries makes it tricky. They have different perceptions between the East and West.

• Dak: It’s counter productive....you hire people to do this work but it comes out not reflecting her original ideas.

• Christian: She’s meticulous, wanting her work to be one particular way.

• Gya: She’s in tune with aesthetic differences, how rooms are decorated from East to West.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi_jrNGa9RM

One more note on Cao Fei!

• Sakin: She seems very observant and intellectual, connecting the past and present and other cultures, looking for overlaps.

• Abdul: She seems meticulous and focused on her work.

• Sarah: She pays attention to how RMB City is built and how the viewers will relate to it.

• Danisa: We don’t quite get the whole picture of who she is, due to the translations. The translator sounded a bit robotic. (missing TONE)

• Dest: It’s tricky to connect with her (Condescention vs. Endearing)

• Promia: The loss of Eastern symbols when handled by Western artists she works with.

• Adrianna: Cultural integration – the understanding of other cultures and .....

• Ingrid: If you have different beliefs that can affect your interpretations. Your cultural beliefs lead you to interpretations.

• LANGUAGE (Pronunciations), ATTIRE, BEHAVIOR, FLAVOR!,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi_jrNGa9RM

Xu BingXu Bing, 65, a small wiry figure with long black tangled hair and rimless glasses, is a veteran of China’s conceptual art movement.

As a child in 1975, Xu was exiled to the countryside as part of Mao’s “re-education” efforts during the Cultural Revolution. During this time he grew up with a very rural lifestyle amongst agriculture and animal livestock.

Some of his work connects to ideas of the beautiful and the classical. Xu’s ideas and artwork became well known in America when he moved to the USA in 1990. He continues to maintain a studio in both Beijing and Brooklyn.

Xu BingXu Bing, 62, a small wiry figure with long black tangled hair and rimless glasses, is a veteran of China’s conceptual art movement.

Early on, he showed that Chinese artists could be as provocative as their Western compatriots.

Some of his work connects to ideas of the beautiful and the classical.

Xu BingThis installation took two years to build, and featured two monumental birds fabricated entirely from materials harvested from construction sites in urban China, including demolition debris, steel beams, tools, and remnants of the daily lives of migrant laborers.

The phoenix is a classic symbol of rebirth, and at once fierce and strangely beautiful, the mythic Phoenixes bear witness to the complex interconnection between labor, history, commercial development, and the rapid accumulation of wealth in today’s China.

Phoenix2012-13

Installation at Mass MoCA

Aesthetic Beauty vs. substance….

Nita: This work looks a bit rough on the outside, but the meaning is BEAUTIFUL.. Compared to other art that could look really beautiful but be dry and without substance.Katelyn: #RealTalk : It’s like when you have conversation with someone who is pretty and they’re just so boring (and kinda dumb) and you’re just like “you’re sooooooo lucky you’re pretty.” Danisa: blah blah, meme meme. Blah blah. Hot pockets. Promia: Like the Greek myth where Prometheus presents two gifts to Zeus and he chooses shiny over substance. Mariama: We are overly concerned with the outward appearance of things. We want it to look nice. .

Xu BingIn 2014, Xu Bing was invited to install Phoenix at St. John the Divine, the massive cathedral in Manhattan.

In this iteration of Phoenix, each sculpture weighed over 12 tons and measured more than 90 feed long. They were each named Feng and Huang after old Asian folktales.

Phoenix2012-13

Installation at St. John the Divine

https://www.nyc-arts.org/showclips/113791/phoenix-by-xu-bing-i-curators-choice

Why a cathedral for this workKendell: This seems massive. How many workers did it take to do this kind of architectural work? Azalea: It seems like a big space, where the “church part???”Dak: There’s a TON of space before you get to that parkTenz: This art piece is massive, and the SPACE in the cathedral is great for it. Also, this work refers to workers that were used to construction companies, and the church is a place where people go for help. Tatiana: Different churches have different types of art, statues, icons (Greek Orthodox)Jen: A lot of these places have complex art/architecture referring to the history of that religion. Some of it sad/painful. Christian: Stained Glass!Gya: Posters, paintings, .

Xu BingWhy a cathedral for this workIngrid: The reverend of St. John thought that the cathedral could fit this piece physically and spiritually. Sakin: Since a this is a holy place, a religious piece, the phoenix could embody the purpose of the cathedral. Aidan: the piece is rooted in the conditions of construction workers in China who deserve better. Sarah: This could be a spirit to literally watch over you. Adrianna: The meaning changes in this iteration, it changes depending on the site. It’s all artist intention vs. viewer interpretation.

Xu BingAfter 1989, many artists were either forced—or chose—to leave China. Xu Bing, who settled in the United States, specifically Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was among those who played a role in the rise of the phenomenon known as “global contemporary art.”

This art moved beyond the conventions of Western modernism, drawing freely from a variety of art and text sources, including those from ancient China.

Xu BingGyaban: CULTURE SHOCK! Even the environmental changes too.Christian: My dad’s from Trinidad…the language and accent were an issue for him. Different expectations for SPORT.Dak: my dad didn’t speak the language when he first came here. Some spoke Spanish, but not a lot. Marco: Parents moved from Italy like 20 years ago....maybe people could take advantage of them in ways? Like their 1st apt was unclean with poor water.Azalea: Dad from Jamaica, it was easier to get a job (different lifestyle, nepotism) but here (America) he’s restricted from getting better pay due to immigration status.

How would international moves affect an artist??? Jen: Their art could reflect on their past

troubles or successes from home.Kendell: Thinking about Xu Bing….the changes may affect how he makes his work??Delani: Those challenges navigating cultures…he may encounter more criticism about his work. Some people may not agree (or understand) what he’s doing. They might not relate.

Jaylin: It could bring more ATTENTION to their work. People may see their work differently…..?Tenz: “Back Home…” the opinions of art may be different...but in NYC, there’s more art opportunities.

Associations with this event?• 9/11, when the twin towers

were knocked down from terrorist attacks.

• A planned terrorist attack by Osama bin Laden

• My dad worked there.• Susually terrorist attacks

happen in other places, with guns, not planes.

• My mom was going to be there that day but she was 10 minutes late and then it happened.

• I always think about what I would do in this situation….

Associations with this event?• Julio : this is a time where

the world was in such shock due to the terriostproblems that had ocured

• Cass: War on Terror and increase in national security, changes to what it means to be foreign

• Aidan: (he has a story!)• .• .• .• .

Xu Bing

Where Does the Dust Itself Collect?2004

dust

On September 11, 2001, Xu Bing was working in his studio in Williamsburg Brooklyn when he witnessed the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers.

In the aftermath of that horrific event, he gathered dust from the streets of Lower Manhattan. At the time, he didn’t know what he wanted to do with it, but he felt he needed some way to process the meaning of so much loss for those living in the early part of the first decade of the 21st century.

Xu Bing

Where Does the Dust Itself Collect?2004

dust

Xu Bing

Where Does the Dust Itself Collect?2004

dust

What motivates this artist???

• Mattia: relating to conflict and politics BUT not taking a stance.

• Christian: his work revolves around ideas of destruction and giving it new life.

• Tatiana: It could be interpreted as a commemorative piece for the people who lost their lives, the dust being their ashes.

• Nila: Witnessing this was probably traumatic, and this is a way of coping with it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fyg2bD0jbtM

Xu Bing looked to one of the central tenets of Buddhism: the impermanence of life and the body. For Where Does the Dust Itself Collect?, which was conceived in 2002 and realized two years later, the artist scattered the dust he had collected on the gallery floor, much as it had blanketed the streets of Lower Manhattan.

He then stenciled in it a stanza from a poem by Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism, written at the turn of the eighth century, quote: “As there is nothing from the first, Where does the dust itself collect?”

What motivates this artist???• Marco: Seems like he cares a lot about

NYC. But similar to Cao Fei, it’s hard to understand his TONE with the translator.

• Michael:He’s clearly affected by this event. As an artist, he feels it’s his responsibility to reach out to people and talk about the pain and the hard stuff.

• Ingrid: What drove him to collect this dust? It seems so spontaneous. Same with Phoenix, why debris? I think some artists think of an idea and then find materials, but he works the other way.

• Noume: Seems like he is motivated to make all these projects. And patient too. There’s obviously lot of time he puts into it all.

• . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fyg2bD0jbtM

Xu BingEarly on in his work, Xu showed that Chinese artists could be as provocative as their Western compatriots.

His work, “A Case Study of Transference,” from 1994 illustrates his fascination with the ugly and the primitive in stark contrast to his other work which emphasized the beautiful and the classical.

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES AHEAD

Xu Bing

A Case Study of Transference 1994

Video

The original version of the work featured two live pigs — a boar and a sow — having sex in front of audiences at one of the early informal art spaces in Beijing. The backs of the pigs were stamped with gibberish composed from the Roman (English) alphabet and invented Chinese characters.While there was an opportunity to have live pigs in the Guggenheim exhibit, the museum drew the line on that, and settled for a video of the Beijing performance.

Xu Bing

A Case Study of Transference

1994Video

Xu Bing

A Case Study of Transference 1994Video

Mr. Xu, who has lived in New York for nearly 20 years, spent time on pig farms when he was forcibly relocated during the Cultural Revolution.

Prior to the exhibition, male and female pigs were carefully chosen to match their time of estrus (being “in heat”). The work presents the fornication of male pigs tattooed with “book from the sky” in English and female pigs tattooed with “book from the earth” in Chinese. Both of these books were created by Xu and contain over 600 pages of invented language.

Why pigs and calligraphy? “Animals are completely uncivilized and Chinese characters are the expression of supreme civilization,”

-Xu Bing

Xu Bing

A Case Study of Transference 1994Video

After his arrival in America in the early 1990s, Xu Bing began to question whether the communication between Eastern and Western culture was effective through the translation of languages. He adopted Eastern philosophies and cultures into his work, while thinking critically on language and other means of communication, the essence of art and culture, similarities and conflicts between objects and cultures. He proposed new ways of conversation and envisioned a dialogue of the East and West through his works.

This work satirizes the philosophical and conceptual approach of art, and begs the question: can art have boundaries that should not be crossed?

How to plan for provocative art

Sketch for A Case Study of Transference 1994Video

Final Thoughts on Xu Bing??

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Final Thoughts on Xu Bing??

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